The Social Worker (Substance Use Disorder Specialist) works directly under the HUD/VASH-HCHV Program Coordinator and provides addiction education and relapse prevention to Veterans participating in the HCHV programs; HUD/VASH, emergency contract beds, and Community Employment. This position supports the Housing First Model. Driving responsibilities include home and community visits, errands for homeless veterans, and transporting patients.
Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency: Must be proficient in written or spoken English. Education: Have a master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Graduates of schools of social work that are in candidacy status do not meet this requirement until the School of Social Work is fully accredited. A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for the master's degree in social work. Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work. Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. Exception: VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level. For the GS-11 grade level and above, the candidate must be licensed or certified. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Please see the Additional Information Section of this announcement for details. Preferred Experience: Experience with Community Outreach and Engagement Experience with group facilitation Experience with advanced care planning Effective communication skills Motivational interviewing skills Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met for each grade level. GS-09: None beyond the basic requirements. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): (a) Ability to work with Veterans and family members from various socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, educational, and other diversified backgrounds utilizing counseling skills. (b) Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed. (c) Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques. (d) Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies. (e) Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology. GS-11: Experience and Licensure: Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings, (VA or non- VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level, OR, in addition to meeting basic requirements, a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services. (b) Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified backgrounds. (c) Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e. acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan. (d) Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems to achieve treatment goals. (e) Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers, social work graduate students, and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment. Reference can be found at the VA Qualification Repository, VA Qualifications Standards - Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) GS-0185, Social Worker Qualification Standard, dated 9/10/2019. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-9 to GS-11. Physical Requirements: A pre-placement examination will be required to determine if you are able to safely operate a government vehicle without harm to yourself or others. The following requirements must be met: distant vision 20/40 in one eye with or without correction, field of vision 70 degrees, ability to distinguish red, green and amber, whispered voice at five feet, or average hearing loss of not greater than 40 dbs. at 500, 1000 and 2,000 Hz.
Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Participates in the service, training, consultative and other professional activities of the substance abuse treatment and functions as a full member of the multidisciplinary team. Performs the initial intake interview with new Veterans, obtaining a thorough history of substance use, legal and job-related consequences of such use, and previous treatments. Conducts the initial Intake Assessment for prospective Veterans, during which, treatment protocol, resources and mutual responsibilities of Veterans and program staff are explained in detail. Provisionally admits a new Veteran to the appropriate treatment, arranges for the other elements of the assessment protocol, identifies and arranges attention to any special psychiatric needs the new Veteran may have, notifies the appropriate Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) team members of the interventions, and identifies and obtains signed Release of Information (ROI} for individuals or entities whose knowledge of the outcome of engagement in treatment is relevant. Develops a treatment plan with Veterans and contributes to team decisions concerning formulation of the problem list and identification of goal-directed interventions for all HUD/VASH-HCHV Veterans, including all resources and/or any restrictions necessary for therapeutic progress. Assimilates the assessment diagnostic information discussed at clinical case conferencing, then prepares and documents the information for his/her assigned case load in Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS). Conducts group sessions for all Veterans and weekly therapeutic, short-term, in-depth counseling sessions for those Veterans assigned to his/her caseload. Observes for Veteran behaviors possibly indicating difficulty adapting or responding to treatment (e.g. missed assessment appointments, failure to attend or maintain abstinence, risk to self or others, disruptive behavior, etc.), completes appropriate documentation and reports concerns to the HUD/VASH-HCHV team in a timely manner. May handle crisis-intervention or address other emergency situations without benefit of specific instructions. Such extraordinary interventions will be carefully documented and communicated to the supervisor in a timely manner. Formulates an effective discharge plan for each Veteran managed by the SUDS and for reporting to the team progress in implementing the plan. When a valid ROI has been signed by the Veteran, develops and maintains appropriate communications, rapport and positive working relationships with a variety of institutions, organizations and service providers (e.g. emergency/transitional housing, Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Al-Anon, probation officers, court officers, lawyers, churches, etc.).Communicates with other agencies regarding the progress and outcome of engagement in treatment, when that communication is identified in the treatment plan and appropriate ROI is obtained and documented. Maintains confidentiality of all patients and both computer and information security as updated and detailed in VAMC policy. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of existing pay, higher or unique qualifications, or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year). Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: Social Worker (Substance Use Disorder Specialist) Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required This is a bargaining unit position.